species detail

Bobolink Dolichonyx oryzivorus

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Migration Info The Bobolink migration is one of the most spectacular for any land bird; an individual from the northern portion of the breeding range can fly a 20,000-mile round-trip each year between the Canadian prairie and the grasslands of Argentina. Bobolinks leave their wintering grounds in mid-March and begin appearing along the U.S. Gulf coast in early April. In the past, rice farmers along the Louisiana coast killed them by the truckload in an attempt to protect their crops from arriving flocks. Bobolinks are no longer hunted in this country, but they are considered a serious pest in their winter habitat, and the entire North American population is at risk should an efficient control method ever be developed in South America.